The Stranger
( A suspense Short Story)
by Vaman Acharya)
It was midnight in the small village of Anjanapura. There was no electricity and the stray dogs were barking outside.
The village is famous for the ancient Hanuman temple situated on the hill top. To reach the temple, climbing 125 uneven steps had become difficult for elderly persons and small children.
‘Jai Hanuman’ a farm house adjacent to the entrance of the temple was built by Vaibhav Sirdesai, a non resident indian returned to his native place and stayed with his wife Vineeta and grownup daughter Sneha.
The telephone was ringing and disturbed his sleep.
"Hello, Who is calling?”
"Sir, someone had set fire to your car shed. It may spread fast to your whole house and your brand new car would be in ashes. The fire may explode in just a few seconds. Your life is also in danger. Please act urgently without wasting time.”
"May I know your name please?”
The caller disconnected the phone without giving his introduction. Vaibhav's wife Vineeta got up and went to another room to wake up her daughter Sneha. All came out including a ferocious dog, watchman and other farm workers.
There was a fire in one corner of the shed, where the car was parked, was safe. Vaibhav was worried and thought immediate action must be taken before the flames became monsters. His house was equipped with a fire extinguisher. Within minutes, he was able to extinguish the fire.
All those present there were happy. Timely action saved from huge loss of property and precious lives. He prayed to Lord Hanuman for a timely rescue.
“Vaibhav, If there was a delay in extinguishing the fire, a major catastrophe would have definitely happened. Stitch in time saves nine. We are ardent devotees of Hanuman and saved us through the stranger.”
“Vineeta, a call from a stranger saved our lives and property. You are right. The stranger had come as a messenger of God.”
“Pappa, you have to find the stranger, who did an excellent job. Next time, if you get the call, call me. You know I am expert in recognising voice,”
said Sneha smilingly.
“Okay my beloved daughter.”
Vaibhav tried to contact the stranger, but it was in vain. He felt very much for this.
After one month of this incident, Vaibhav was invited by the village head Mahabala Shambhu Pehelvan to attend a village development meeting on the following day at six pm. Vaibhav accepted the invitation.
He was about to leave for the meeting and his phone rang.
“Sir, please don't attend the meeting as there is a life threat for you.”
This time also the caller did not reveal about him. He canceled the meeting.
Vaibhav was a progressive farmer in Anjanapura. Four years back, he and his wife and daughter all resigned from highly paid lucrative jobs in the United States of America with an ambition to develop his ten acres of barren land and renovate Hanuman temple for devotees. As a first step, the uneven steps of the temple were ready as user friendly. He had a bird sanctuary, pet room, pumpset rooms and rest rooms for workers. Due to the application of modern technology, digging big wells with abundant water, employment of skilled laborers and more than that hard work of the family members, the lands became more fertile. The main crops were sugarcane, paddy and wheat. The produce increased four times by the end of fifth year.
He and his family faced a number of life threatening situations. Every time the stranger makes a call and saves their life.
Who was a stranger?
Threat calls were from Mahabala, a landlord of and village head. He presumed himself as a king in the village. Nobody had the guts to face him. The poor farmers were under his grip and working in his fields as bonded laborers. He doesn't want anyone to rise in the village.
Mahabala sent his servant to Vaibhav with a threat warning to sell his lands and other properties to him for more than the present market value and pack up to the United States, otherwise, his life would be in high risk.
Vaibhav lodged a complaint against Mahabala at Raghavpur police station. The following day a police inspector with his team arrived and grilled Mahabala for three hours. He, being a powerful man in the village, managed the police and sent them back to Raghavpur without any action.
Mahabala continued giving trouble to Vaibhav and his family. Despite continuous efforts Vaibhav was unable to trace out the stranger, who had called every time to save their lives. He felt very bad for not getting any clue about the stranger.
Vaibhav was seriously thinking why police were inactive against Mahabala?
Vaibhav approached the police commissioner, Bengaluru informing the activities of Mahabala and series of life threats given to him. He requested an appointment. Vaibhav was surprised to know that his friend Abhay Kumar was Commissioner of Police. Both were classmates in college. The appointment was fixed on the fifteenth of the coming month. Mahabala got this information and planned to counter it. He had a fear that if Vaibhav became a strong man in the village, all his crimes would come out and he would have to spend his rest of life behind bars.
Vaibhav met his friend Abhay Kumar on that day and discussed in detail about the cruelty of Mahabala. Abhay agreed to take action against the crooked person.
Three months passed. Neither Raghavpur police took action against Mahabala nor the Commissioner took any steps against Mahabala.
On one Saturday morning, Vaibhav and his family went to Hanuman temple at the hilltop by climbing one hundred twenty five steps to perform a special puja. While returning at the 50th step, two guys supposed to be the henchmen of Mahabala stopped Vaibhav and his family members. These guys shouted 'go back America'.
At the same time, one sturdy young man wearing coloured specs, modern dress with felt hat over the head arrived and fought with the henchmen. During the scuffle, the youngman got injured and the duo ran from the spot. Vaibhav saw the youngman and could not recognise. He disappeared within seconds.
It was a surprise for Vaibhav and his family.
Why did the young man disappear?
Vaibhav was about to unlock the main door of his house, and somebody patted him back.
Sneha came and asked,
“Who are you? Why are you here?”
“Sneha, I am here for a specific purpose. By taking revenge, I can achieve two goals. One to eliminate my uncle Mahabala and extend the hand of love to Sneha.” said and removed the specs and felt hat.
Everybody was stunned to know the stranger, who was none other than Parikshit, who loved Sneha. They were colleagues in Global Software, California. It was another surprise that Parikshit's father Somasekhara was the elder brother of Mahabala and died due to torture five years back.
Sneha felt very much for rejecting the love with Parikshit earlier. Realizing her mistake, she now apologized and expressed her love by shaking hands.
The stranger became a son-in -law of Vaibhav Vineeta and beloved husband of Sneha.
